Click in Power Cover to get the speed and comfort of a classic keyboard along with a boost of extra power for your Surface. Power Cover features a QWERTY mechanical keyboard, a full row of function keys (F1–F12), Windows shortcut keys, media controls and a touchpad.

Power Cover lets you take Surface from tablet to laptop and back again with a quick flip. But you also get up to 50 percent extra battery life to help you make it through that late-night meeting or the entire flight. When closed, Power Cover helps protect your screen and shuts down your display to preserve battery life.

Have they forgotten the power cover? Feel free to think I'm an idiot but I bought the SP2 pro in late Nov with the intention to get the power cover in Jan. I did not pick up any keyboards along the way and am still keyboardless. It's driving me mad because the surface is incredibly limited without the keyboard (for example, if you start a game and can't hit escape to exit, your only option is to restart the device). Obviously I am not able to do any work on it so my old thinkpad is still my main PC. The only consolation is that it is a great drawing/note taking device so I still get some use out of it. Now I'm too far in to cave and get a regular type cover, it's the power cover or nothing haha...

Have they forgotten the power cover? Feel free to think I'm an idiot but I bought the SP2 pro in late Nov with the intention to get the power cover in Jan. I did not pick up any keyboards along the way and am still keyboardless. It's driving me mad because the surface is incredibly limited without the keyboard (for example, if you start a game and can't hit escape to exit, your only option is to restart the device). Obviously I am not able to do any work on it so my old thinkpad is still my main PC. The only consolation is that it is a great drawing/note taking device so I still get some use out of it. Now I'm too far in to cave and get a regular type cover, it's the power cover or nothing haha...

Click to expand...

To exit a game, you can swipe from left of screen to right, it will open a panel with all open apps and applications. If it's an app, you can swipe from top of screen all the way down, it will close the app.

I did not pick up any keyboards along the way and am still keyboardless. It's driving me mad because the surface is incredibly limited without the keyboard .

Click to expand...

In addition to the 'covers', you can use:
a) any USB keyboard
b) any wireless keyboard (with it's own dongle)
c) any Bluetooth keyboard
Lastly, pre-owned, Gen 1 touch covers should be pretty cheap on eBay

If you're looking for more control to tide you over until the keyboard is released, there is an app available now in the MS Store that allows you to fully configure multiple finger/swipe gestures (including having them activate keyboard shortcuts). It really is that good, makes operating metro IE a dream (well, almost).

haha thanks for the tips... I could have sworn I tried swiping the edges on XCOM and was still stuck but some games might work better than others. I've also considered my USB keyboard but with one USB port and no dongles it's either the keyboard or the gamepad... And my keyboard isn't something I want to bring with me everyday.

I know it sounds impractical but I'm just holding out for the power cover. Until then, the SP2 is still my go to device for drawing, note taking, and general web surfing.